My family has been going through a major change in our view of money and what is truly important. It’s been a long process that started back in 2005 when we started taking Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University class at our church. The next major shift came when my factory closed in the summer of 2009. It has continued as we’ve brought three additional kids into our home to add to our existing three.

It’s amazing what you learn to do without when you just simply no longer have the money to do it. You actually often reach a point where the desire for those things goes away. One great example is fast food. We just really have no desire anymore to fill our bodies with that questionable nutrition.

One thing I have struggled with as we’ve grown, is taking a look at those around me and the things that they still find important in their lives. I wonder how to initiate the changes in their lives without them having to do it through a “trial by fire” such as we have. [Read more…]